Emergency Kit.. Do you have one? you should!

[TheLost]

As i type this i'm watching helicopters scoop buckets of water out of a small reservoir a block from my house.. they then fly a few more blocks away and drop it on a fire ravaging our little hillside.

http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/rosecrestfire

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=210...from-fire-by-heroic-measures&s_cid=featured-1

The fire currently isn't any danger to our house.. but 950 homes have been evacuated so far..

Which is why i'm posting this little PSA:

If you ever have to leave in an emergency... do you know what you'd take?

(picture taken by some neighbors as they left their house yesterday)

We learned our lesson 2 years ago when a larger fire (well.. hopefully this one doesn't get worse) forced us to leave our house with little notice.

Documents.. Pictures... irreplaceable items.. Medicines (both for people and pets).. It's hard to think when you have police standing on your door waiting for you to leave.

It's a good idea to think about the unthinkable!!! What do you need.. Where is it.. And how fast can you get it.

Luckily we didn't have to bug-out this time (knocking on wood!!)... but its good to know we're ready.
Say a little prayer for the people around the country who are watching their homes go up in flames (Colorado, Idaho and Utah to name a few).

END OF PSA!

Molly is dealing with all the excitement as expected.. She doesn't like the low flying planes and helicopters. Defiantly doesn't like all the firetrucks and sirens... But i do think she's being a little grumpy and paranoid!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Sadly yes..I know how this feels! We live NOT only in earthquake country (southern California) but in a wildfire interface area. We've been evacuated a few times and it's not a very good experience. But it's forced us to be prepared to leave in a moments notice..and to stay put and expect to be on our own for days. We actually have neighborhood emergency action teams (neat). These teams undergo special training and members have specific duties..mine is to check on the elderly in our neighborhood..and to assist them to a safe place in our local area. Since these have been in place for years..I'm getting closer to the elderly than not!

 

[cali baker]

This is a good reminder for all of us! I've been thinking a lot about my emergency kit but the actual "doing" is another story. Time to get my behind in gear and start putting my kit and one for the boys' together.

 

[Saalwi]

This is a good reminder for all of us! I've been thinking a lot about my emergency kit but the actual "doing" is another story. Time to get my behind in gear and start putting my kit and one for the boys' together.

Me too!

 

[Sherry]

This is great advise, living in Pennsylvania where I do, I don't ever think about evacuating, perhaps I need to get a plan together in case I ever need to. I'm not near water, we don't have gas line, on the side of a hill, no earthquakes to speak of, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't get my head around this. Thank you.

With the fire's in the news, and I'm a news hound, I have kept a vigil on all, Please be careful and know that community's all over this country are pulling together and sending supply's.
Give Molly a kiss and hug from our house. Poor baby don't know what to think

 

[izstigspunks]

This is great advise, living in Pennsylvania where I do, I don't ever think about evacuating, perhaps I need to get a plan together in case I ever need to. I'm not near water, we don't have gas line, on the side of a hill, no earthquakes to speak of, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't get my head around this. Thank you.

With the fire's in the news, and I'm a news hound, I have kept a vigil on all, Please be careful and know that community's all over this country are pulling together and sending supply's.
Give Molly a kiss and hug from our house. Poor baby don't know what to think

I'm in the same boat as you. We don't get much 'excitement' here too, but i have been thinking about the emergencies. Worried about the food though, since they're on raw. Hopefully the new freeze dried option won't upset their stomach too much. Gonna need to order extra stock of their meds too.

Thanks so much for the reminder op. Pls keep safe.

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

I hope this gets under control. I just saw some coverage its so sad I hope everyone has somewhere safe to go.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

A FABULOUS reminder!

 

[jen74401]

Our house burned in 2008, not by wildfire but by the house being struck by lightning. Everyone should walk around their house with a video recorder and video tape EVERYTHING in your house and then store it in a safety deposit box at your bank. I had never thought of doing this before. When dealing with the insurance company afterwards they wanted me to write a list of every single item I had plus the brand and what I paid for it. They wanted to know every single spice that I had in my spice cabinet, brand of toothbrushes, etc. Losing everything you own is hard enough but trying to remember every little item is beyond difficult.

 

[cowsmom]

oh wow yes a good reminder. we dont get excitement here really but we did have a quake last year a small one. hm

 

[kazzy220]

My husband lost his family home to a fire when he was a kid and still living with his parents. therefore, all our important documents are kept in a fire-proof locked box in the office cupboard. Luckily, none of us are on medication so I guess the box, our fur babies and ourselves are all that is truly needed to leave the house with.

 

[2BullyMama]

Great advice/info and an awesome picture

 

[jen74401]

My husband lost his family home to a fire when he was a kid and still living with his parents. therefore, all our important documents are kept in a fire-proof locked box in the office cupboard. Luckily, none of us are on medication so I guess the box, our fur babies and ourselves are all that is truly needed to leave the house with.

We had a fire proof lock box also but the temp of the fire was so intense everything inside of it was still destroyed.

 

[kazzy220]

We had a fire proof lock box also but the temp of the fire was so intense everything inside of it was still destroyed.

WOW ... I better tell my husband this because he thinks it's gonna keep everything safe!! [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] (our resident fireman) what do you think about these fire proof lock boxes???

 

[Davidh]

Well you need a fire proof safe that is rated at a minimum of 1 hour. Most good one swill be rated for 1 hour at 1850 deg. F. Paper will ignite at 350 deg F. So the better the rating the better protection you will have against things burning up inside. [MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION]